To properly maintain a printer, it is necessary to periodically service the printer's printhead. In an ink-jet printer, such servicing most often involves regular removal of unwanted particulate from the printhead nozzle, it being necessary to remove such particulate to avoid clogging of the nozzle's ink port. To effect service, it is conventional to equip the printer with an apparatus which prevents the buildup of particulate by periodic wiping and capping of the printer's printhead. Servicing operations of this type are generally effected using an apparatus which moves a service station into and out of operative association with the printer's printhead to effect service thereof. Conventional apparatus for use in executing these servicing operations, however, have presented various problems, including problems related to: the amount of time the printer is off-line, complexity of the design, reliability of the design, cost of manufacturing the apparatus, cross-contamination of printheads, and the carriage and maintenance of the wipers and caps during the printhead servicing operation.
Although certain improvements in apparatus which effect printhead servicing have been proposed, such improvements have generally involved solutions which are unacceptably expensive and complex. One such improvement was described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/949,197 entitled "Ink-jet Printhead Capping and Wiping Method and Apparatus", which was filed on Sep. 21, 1992, and which is owned commonly herewith. Another improvement was set forth in U.S. patent Ser. No. 07/954,846 entitled "Printhead Servicing Station for Printers", which was filed on Sep. 30, 1992, and which is commonly owned herewith. The disclosures of these patent applications are incorporated herein by the present references thereto.